How to Brush Your Dog’s Teeth. . . without getting bit

I think we can all agree we want our dog’s to be healthy. But when I found out I need to brush my dog’s teeth, my first thought was “uh….no.”

Getting our dog to sit still or listen can be a challenge, so the idea of getting her to sit still, open her mouth and let me brush around seemed a little ridiculous.

My first thought was how do I do this without her biting me either accidentally or on purpose. Well, I tried anyway and turns out, practice makes perfect. Now I want to share what I’ve learned with you.

Here are 6 tips on how to brush your dog’s teeth without getting bit.

1. Use Dog Toothpaste Flavors Your Dog Loves

I’m assuming you already know they make doggy toothpaste. If not you can check out the best picks here.

The first tip is to use different flavors that the dog will enjoy. It is better to use a flavor like bacon or beef so that the dog will be able to enjoy it better.

You will be able to figure out quickly which one of the flavors that your dog will enjoy so this needs to be what you choose to brush their teeth with.

2. Start Brushing Your Dog’s Teeth with Your Fingers

The second tip is to start off using your fingers. If you brush their teeth too hard, then it can cause them a lot of pain. Plus, it will leave a bad impression on the dog right away.

This means that it will be next to impossible to get the dog to let your brush their teeth anymore. Therefore, if you start with your fingers instead of a brush that has bristles on it that is not good for the dogs.

Your fingers are softer on the gums of the dogs and you will be able to build up to something a little more firm in the long run.

3. Be Gentle

The third tip is to make sure that you only do gentle strokes. When you finally have the ability to move up to an actual toothbrush, you will need to make gentle movements along the gum line.

This means that you need to brush at an angle like you would your own mouth, and you will make sure that you don’t press down too hard because you can cause the gums to bleed. It might even be a good idea to use a sponge instead of brushes because they can be too rough for the dog.

4. Don’t Forget the Back of the Mouth

The fourth tip is to focus on the back of the dog’s mouth when you are brushing their teeth.

This is because this is where the most tartar is going to show up inside of the dog’s mouth. The teeth in the back are not going to be involved in as much action like the teeth located in the front.

In other words, they are not going to use the back teeth as much in the chewing of their food so they will be more flat and square.

5. Use Treats. . . Dog’s always love treats

The fifth tip is to make sure that you use treats to distract the dog from what you are doing.

This is especially true if the dog is having trouble adjusting to the fact that you are poking around in their mouth. The best thing for you to do is to make it a fun game for the dog.

If you are able to brush a small area of the mouth, then you can give him a treat for being a good boy. This means that they can associate the brushing of their teeth with treat time.

6. Brush Quickly

The sixth tip is to try to be as quickly as possible when you are brushing their teeth. There are some dogs that are not going to enjoy the process of brushing their teeth no matter what you do for them.

Therefore, it is better if you try to make the process of teeth brushing very quickly. This is because even a quick brush is going to be better than no brushing at all.

If you are able to get into the dog’s mouth, try to distract the dog for at least 30 seconds so that you can clean the teeth during this time.